Yet visions are seldom all they seem
by Child.Heart.Forever
Summary: This is a story of an orphaned girl called Aldara who sets out to find her long lost family. What will happen when she decides to befriend a girl she meets in the forest? Will Aldara ever find her family? (I SUCK at summarys!)
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone this is my first ever fanfiction story since getting an account (yay!) I'm not a very good writer so please excuse bad grammar and stuff. This storyline only came to me when I found out that the name Aldara means 'winged gift'. Please be kind when you read it because I'm only a stupid little kid! :D

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Chapter 1:

Maleficent smiled as she watched the small child playing with her teddy bear. She truly felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have such a perfect little girl that she could call her own. The girl's name was Aldara and even at only two years old she was already showing signs that she had inherited her mother's fiery temper. She had short dark curly hair, pale green skin and beautiful golden eyes.

Aldara giggled with glee as she managed to grab hold of Diablo long enough to turn his dark feathers bright pink. The raven cawed angrily and flew in front of Maleficent's face demanding that she change his feathers back to their natural colour.

"Not yet" she whispered "You'll have to wait a while so she doesn't get upset...and..." she smirked and continued "You look fine in pink"

Diablo cawed in annoyance and flew out of the nearest window to sulk on the roof of the castle.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Shouted Aldara as she jumped up and down on the spot

"Yes my little princess?" Asked Maleficent

"Can you tell me that story again? The one about the dragon you found once" Pleaded Aldara

"Oh but don't you get bored of hearing the same story over and over?"

"No I like it! I really like dragons too!"

Maleficent laughed softly "Oh alright just once more" She said as she lifted the infant off the ground and sat her on her lap.

"Well when I was a little girl I always loved to explore the forest around me and play with the creatures that lived there-"

"-Just like me!" Said Aldara

Maleficent smiled "Yes just like you...The thing I loved most was finding dragons as I believed I could truly understand them. One day there was a great storm that destroyed parts of the forest that I so dearly loved. A pixie informed me that a young dragon had been trapped in an area of the forest affected by the storm and that he was injured. When I found him it was to find that his wing was trapped underneath a fallen tree and it was clearly broken. I quickly used the magic I possessed to free him from the tree and I spent the next few weeks looking after him while his wing healed and we soon became friends"

Aldara smiled and snuggled up against her mother's chest as she continued to listen to the story.

"We spoke of the forest and places we'd been and he told me of his home and far off lands that I'd only ever dreamed of but best of all we talked about flying. He told me what it was like to soar through the clouds with the wind calling your name and the soft breeze in your face and of the beautiful colours of the skies and clouds at sunset"

"Mummy" Asked Aldara in a quiet voice "What happened to the dragon? I always forget"

"He went home" Maleficent said simply

"That's sad" Said Aldara

"Not really. Yes it was sad to say goodbye to a friend but the skies were calling him and as he once told me 'Home is where the heart is' and I knew that his heart was forever in his homelands with the other dragons. One day he left after promising that he would never forget the few precious weeks that we were friends"

"That's a-"Aldara yawned "-Nice story, Mummy" she finished sleepily

Maleficent smiled at her little girl before saying quietly "I think you could use a nap, little one"

Aldara nodded "Ok mummy"

Maleficent stood up with Aldara in her arms and carried the little girl upstairs to her bedroom and put her to bed. She was just leaving the room when Aldara called after her.

"Mummy! Wait!"

"Yes my darling?"

"Sing to me" She said "Sing our song"

Maleficent smiled and seated herself next to Aldara's bed and began to softly sing to her

"I know you I walked with you once upon a dream

I know you that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

And I know it's true yet visions are seldom all they seem

But if I know you I know what you'll do

You'll love me at once

The way you did once upon a dream"

Maleficent smiled at her sleeping daughter and gently kissed her forehead

"Sweet dreams my little Aldara"


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story! Sorry if this is a bit boring but it's leading up to the next chaper where the story really starts to get interesting.

Feel free to leave a review on this story if you want as I'd really like to hear what you guys think. :D

.Forever

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Chapter 2:

She could hear singing in the distance but it was still loud, loud enough that it could wake her sleeping daughter. When she actually listened and heard a few words of what they were singing she was outraged.

"Hail to the king!

Hail to the queen!

Hail to the princess Aurora!" Sang the overly cheerful voices

"Princess?" She repeated slightly confused. Stefan and the queen now had a daughter? Why hadn't she heard of this yet? She looked out of the window and was enraged to see the entire kingdom heading to King Stefan's castle. Were they having a party without her?! How dare they! After all they'd put her through in the past they now had the nerve to pretend she didn't exist! She wanted to march right into the castle and demand to know why she hadn't received an invitation too...But she couldn't just leave her baby girl all alone in the castle even for a few minutes.

She did a quick bit of thinking and decided that since she would only be gone a few minutes she could leave Diablo behind to watch her daughter. After all he knew what to do if something were to...She shook her head. There was no need to worry. Aldara would be fine with Diablo watching her for a few minutes.

"Diablo" She said addressing the raven who looked at her to show he was listening "I need you to watch over little Aldara while I'm gone. I'll only be gone for a few minutes and you know what to do if anything were to..." She stopped herself unable to imagine something happening to her beloved child. "I won't be long" She said quickly. Diablo nodded to show he understood and flew off to Aldara's room to keep a closer watch over the infant girl.

Maleficent teleported herself to Stefan's castle and appeared in the middle of the room in a flurry of bright green flames.

"Well now. Quite a glittering assemblage King Stefan" She said politely "Royalty, Nobility, The gentry and-"Her eyes fell on the three good fairies and she laughed. "Oh how quaint" She laughed "Even the rebel"

She smirked as Merryweather chose that moment to try and attack her only to be held back by her sister Flora. She turned her attention back to the king before she continued to speak "I truly felt quite distressed at not receiving an invitation" She said

"You weren't wanted!" Snapped Merryweather before she added in a quieter voice that only Maleficent could hear "And neither was that ugly little mongrel you call a child!"

Maleficent glared at Merryweather and she felt her whole body shaking with the effort it was taking to restrain herself from blasting that worthless blue fairy against a wall "You'll kindly leave my baby out of this Merryweather!" She hissed venomously. It was only then that Merryweather's words finally sunk into her mind. She'd been so busy defending her child that she hadn't bothered to spare a thought for what else Merryweather had said.

"Not wanted?" She repeated before she let out a nervous laugh "Oh dear. What an awkward situation I had hoped it was merely due to some oversight. Well in that event I'd best be on my way" She said before turning to leave feeling that she had left her daughter home alone long enough.

"And...You're not offended, your excellency?" Asked the queen, causing Maleficent to stop dead in her tracks.

Was this queen stupid? Of course she was offended! Maleficent let no signs of anger show on her face and turned back to face the queen "Why no, your majesty. And to show I bear no ill will I too, shall bestow a gift on the child"

The three fairies ran in front of the cradle to shield the princess from her but she threw them across the room with a sweep of her hand.

"Listen well all of you!" She said clearly "The princess shall indeed, grow in grace and beauty. Be loved by all who know her"

"That-That's a lovely gift" Stuttered the queen

"But...Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die!"

"NO!" Cried the queen

"No!" Moaned King Stefan "Maleficent please...don't do this to her. She's only a child"

Maleficent Smirked "I like seeing you beg" She told him "Do it again and I might change my mind"

Stefan reluctantly got down on his knees and begged her to remove the curse "Please Maleficent. I'm begging you. Please don't do this"

Maleficent sighed. "Fine she will not die when se pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel instead she will fall into a deathlike slumber from which she cannot awake!"

"Seize that creature!" Yelled Stefan

As the guards rushed towards her Maleficent rose her arms and green flames appeared around her "Stand back you fools!" She shouted causing the guards the jump back in fear. Maleficent let out a cruel laugh and disappeared from the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi Everyone! I've decided to slow down the storyline a bit and not rush into it too much yet (My brother thinks I'm rushing this thing so…) Anyway thanks to everyone who's reading this and you're awesome! And thanks to Spatterson who have me the idea for this chapter so once again thank you for that!  
Feel free to review this story because I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far!  
"Well here's chapter three! :D

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Chapter 3:

Maleficent reappeared in the throne room to her castle and was greeted by the sound of Diablo cawing in fright and her daughter laughing.

"Come back here pretty birdy!" She called

Maleficent looked up at the top of the stairs to see Diablo flying towards her with a terrified look on his face and just behind him she could she Aldara chasing his with a look of upmost joy on her face as bright golden sparks shot from her finger tips. A jet of golden sparks his Diablo and he let out a loud caw and something yellow started to appear on his head. He flew straight up towards the rafters and his himself from sight.

"MUMMY!" Squealed Aldara as she ran down the stairs and hugged her mother. Then she stepped back slightly and folded her arms "Where did you go earlier?" She asked "It's only I woke up an you weren't here…I thought something had happened to you"

"Oh I'm sorry for leaving you on your own but I had to go to king Stefan's castle"

"Why?" Asked Aldara

"Because he was having a party"

"Why?"

"Because he was celebrating the christening of his daughter"

"Why?"

"Well…Because his daughter was born and he wanted to celebrate

"Oh…" Aldara's expression changed once again to one of confusion "But Mummy"

"Yes my darling?"

"Why does that mean you had to go?"

"Well you see…Everyone in the kingdom was meant to be invited to the child's christening…except we weren't"

"That's not fair!" Whined Aldara "I want to go to a party! It's not fair mummy!" 

"I know it's not fair. But I made sure to teach the king that he should never forget about us"

"How did you do that?" Asked Aldara curiously

Maleficent thought for a few seconds and decided not to tell Aldara everything she had done. She would tell her of the curse of course but perhaps she would miss out the part about the princess dying…she'd tell her that part when she was older if she ever asked again "Well I put a very powerful and evil spell on the princess as it was because of her that the party was being held meaning it was her fault that we were forgotten"

"Well done Mummy! That'll teach him not to ignore us!" She said before hugging her mother again.

Maleficent smiled but then noticed that Diablo had fluttered down from the ceiling and was standing near the bottom of the stairs. But he didn't look normal. There was indeed something yellow growing from his head. They were flower petals. Bright yellow sunflower petals were growing round his face giving him the odd look of a dying plant. Aldara seemed to have realised that her mother had caught sight of the raven and she smirked

"I think he looks cuter as a flower" she said

Maleficent laughed at these words but was interrupted by Aldara who added

"And I think you'd look pretty as a flower too mummy…" she giggled and asked "Can I give you a flower head like the pretty birdy?"

Maleficent smiled at her daughter's words "You, little one, are a very cheeky little girl sometimes, aren't you?"

Aldara smiled and was just about to speak when Maleficent pulled her slightly closer and started tickling her.

"No stop it! Mummy stop it that tickles!" She laughed

Maleficent smiled "Oh does it?…Is this any better?" She asked playfully as she gently put her hands at the sides of Aldara's neck and continued to tickle her. Aldara laughed harder than ever and tensed up her shoulders in an attempt to stop her mother from having access to the sides of her neck.

Diablo cawed in amusement and didn't have time to move before Aldara managed to aim a few sparks of blue magic at him causing his tail feathers to turn into the head of a mop causing him to squawk in anger.

Maleficent stopped tickling her daughter and looked over at Diablo and laughter when she saw his new mop tail. "Aldara" she said

"Yes mummy?"

"I did love it when you turned Diablo pink earlier. Would you mind doing it again it's just…I think he'd look better pink at the moment" she said as she shot Diablo a slightly wicked smiled

Aldara laughed and shot bright pink sparks at Diablo once again turning his remaining black feathers bright pink. Diablo squawked in anger and humiliation before he took off out of the window to go and hide in some distant tree for a while.

Maleficent smiled. She'd apologise to Diablo later.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi eyeryone! Sorry for the delay in updating but I've been really caught up with school work and drama rehersals (Performing in the west end on the 6th!). As usual if you have any comments you'd like to make regarding the storyline so far or my writing or anything pleeeeeeeeeese say something cuz I really really want to know what you guys are thinking right now! Btw I'm apologising in advance for the length of this chapter (I think it's over 1000 words this time!) :D

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Chapter 3:

Maleficent could hear shouting outside and, from how loud the voices were, not far away. This was odd for two reasons. One: People never usually dared to set foot near her castle and Two: People usually had the decency to be quieter after sunset. She looked out of the window and gasped when she saw men dressed in armour and carrying swords approaching. Stefan's army.

"Mummy what is it?" Asked Aldara, tugging on the hem of Maleficent's robes.

"Aldara I need you to go to your room"

"What?! But why?!"

"Please just go to your room, shut the windows, lock the door and don't come out until I tell you to. If ANYONE but I tell you to come out DON'T listen to them. Ok?"

"Mummy what's going-?"

"Aldara please! I'll explain later but now please just go to your room and do as I've asked!"

Aldara nodded and ran up the stairs to her bedroom where she locked the door behind her, shut the window and looked out of it only to see the approaching army. Her eyes went wide like an owl and she quickly pushed a chair up against the door before diving under the bed covers in an attempt to hide.

Maleficent left the castle making sure to shut the doors behind her before rushing off to meet the soldiers before they reached her castle.

"Come no further!" She shouted

A few of the soldiers smirked at each other but made no move to retreat.

"Leave this place now!"

The soldiers laughed "We do not take orders from wicked old hags"

"GO! YOU WILL LEAVE NOW!" She shouted

"We shall not leave until we can return to the king assuring him that you have been vanquished!"

Maleficent laughed cruelly "You defeat me? Me? The mistress of all evil? Imbeciles!" She began to glow with an eerie green light and stepped towards the soldiers.

"You shall regret the moment you disobeyed me!"

She brought her sceptre down to point at the soldiers sending a bolt of lightning in their direction and continued to do so until she was sure that most of her enemies were either injured or dead. She glared at the remaining men who all had looks of shock and horror on their faces.

"Leave now unless you want to meet the same fate as the rest of them!"

The remaining soldiers dropped their weapons and ran as fast as they could into the cover of the trees behind them. Maleficent smiled and turned to make her way back to her castle but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Diablo squawking like his life depended on it. Then to her horror she heard a shrill scream that she knew immediately belonged to her little girl. Terror. Terror as she had never experienced shot through her and she was back at the castle within a matter of seconds.

Aldara! Aldara can you hear me?!"

"MUMMY HELP ME!" Screamed the terrified child

Maleficent heard the smash of breaking glass and another loud blood curdling scream.

"MUMMY! MUMMY SAVE ME!" Pleaded Aldara

Maleficent rushed up the stairs and sprinted down the corridor to her daughter's room, praying that she was not too late.

"Aldara! Aldara can you still hear me?!"

No answer came from her daughter.

"Aldara? Aldara are you alright?!"

Still no answer.

"Aldara?" Maleficent pushed open the door to Aldara's bedroom and looked around. The door looked like it had been forced open and a broken chair lay in the middle of the room probably having been used in an attempt to keep the door shut. The mirror that had previously sat on the dressing table and been knocked to the floor and lay splintered into about fifty tiny pieces, Aldara's teddy lay on the floor with a slash down the side of its head but what scared her most was the ripped bed sheets that had been pulled off the bed and a small patch of it was stained scarlet. It was only after seeing all this that Maleficent's attention was drawn to the curtains that had been slashed by what looked like a knife or some other sharp object and shards of glass covered the patch of carpet near them. She ripped back the curtains to find that the window had been smashed open. It was in that second that she realised what it must mean.

She felt fear cut through her like a knife and her hand flew to her mouth "No" She whispered before she turned and fled the room.

"ALDARA!" She screamed "ALDARA WHERE ARE YOU?! ALDARA!"

She ran through the castle screaming for her daughter as she checked every single room in the building before she pushed open the front doors and ran out into the pouring rain screaming her child's name.

"ALDARA! ALDARA CAN YOU HEAR ME! ALDARA! ALDARA PLEASE! WHERE ARE YOU?! ALDARAAAAAAA!"

She sprinted as fast as she could through the wind and rain until she reached the edge of the forest. They'd got away. She'd never catch them now. They'd gone.

She shook her head and sank to her knees on the soaking wet grass as tears began to sting her eyes.

"No" She whispered "Nooooooooooooo!" She hid her face in her hands, tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she sobbed so hard that it caused her body to shake.

"ALDARAAAA! ALDARAAAAA!"

She cried for what seemed to her like hours for now she was not even sure if her daughter was still alive but she was almost certain that she would never feel the joy of holding her little girl in her arms again. She felt something soft brush against the side of her neck and raised her tearstained face to see Diablo looking at her. He bowed his head as if to say 'I'm sorry' but Maleficent shook her head.

"You don't need to apologise for there was nothing you could have done. It was my fault for leaving her alone"

Diablo looked back up at her and cawed reassuringly. Maleficent smiled weakly at him. Of course he would want to help he acted as though the two year old annoyed him but he would do anything to keep her safe.

"Diablo. Please Find her. Find Aldara. Find my baby girl"

Diablo nodded his feathery head and took off into the cloudy sky. Maleficent didn't return to her castle until sometime after dark instead she had sat underneath the old willow tree in the forest where she had once sat only a few years ago with Aldara's father shortly before he was killed by King Stefan's army. How much more was she going to lose? She had lost her true home, her friends, her parents, her brother, the one man she had ever truly loved and now because of her arrogance she had lost her beloved daughter. The sky had darkened and shone with the light of a thousand golden stars. She gazed up at the darkness of the night sky and vowed that someday, somehow she would be reunited with her baby.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone! I'm finally back! I'm soooo sorry I haven't updated for ages but I'm definatly NOT going to abandon this story. Thank you all so much for reading this story and I love reading the reviews you guys write so please keep 'em coming! So now's the time for me to shut up and here's chapter 5! :D

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Warning: Character death flashbash (Flashbash is in italics)

Chapter 5:

_The sun was low on the horizon as they sat together under the old willow tree. Their tree. Their secret place. It was where they first met, the place they used to sneak off to when they'd wanted to be alone, the place they fell in love, the place he had proposed to her. Now in time it would grow to be a place they would bring their child to play once she was old enough._

_Maleficent sighed and laid her head on Malcolm's shoulder._

_"Did you ever imagine our lives like this?" She asked_

_"Meaning?"_

_"You know...In love, Married...A baby"_

_Malcolm smiled before saying "Yeah I did..." He stopped for a few seconds before he added "Well you know not the part about the baby"_

_Maleficent laughed "Well yes even I couldn't have imagined a child...not so soon anyways"_

_Malcolm smiled at the sleeping baby in Maleficent's arms. The child wriggled in her mother's arms and opened her eyes blinking up at her parents._

_"She's got your eyes" Said Malcolm_

_"I'm just glad she hasn't got my ears too" Maleficent confessed_

_Malcolm shook his head. He'd never understood what she had against her slightly pointed ears._

_"I think she's perfect" He said_

_"She is" Agreed Maleficent_

_Malcolm sighed "I still think we should have named her Renée" He said_

_"Oh Malcolm please don't start that again. Anyway you agreed to name her Aldara"_

_"What about if her middle is Renée?" He asked_

_"Oh alright but pleaes don't change your mind again later"_

_The infant giggled and waved her small hands in the air in front of her face as her tiny fingers glowed gold slightly._

_"Just like her mother" Said Malcolm as he watched Aldara_

_"You don't know that yet. She could grow to have your terrible sense of humour"_

_"Or your feminine charm" Suggested Malcolm_

_Maleficent shook her head and sighed "I just hope she has inherited your kind, loving nature"_

_"Maleficent. I'm sure our daughter will grow up to be-"_

_Maleficent never found out what Malcolm was sure their child would grow up to be as little Aldara chose that moment to start crying._

_"Ohh hush now little one. Everything's alright" Maleficent whispered soothingly_

_"Maleficent. Take Aldara and go hide!"_

_"But Malcolm why-?"_

_"King Stefan's soldiers are coming this way! You're a fairy! They want you dead! They'll want little Aldara dead too if they find out about her! You have to go and hide! Now!"_

_"B-But what about you?!"_

_"I'll hold them off as best I can"_

_Maleficent ran and hid at the edge of the forest so that she could still watch the events from a distance._

_Malcolm was approached by several soldiers who all immediately pointed their swords at him._

_"Where did she go?" Asked one of the soldiers_

_"She? Who's 'She'? Where did who go?" Asked Malcolm_

_"Where did the fairy go?"_

_"Did she have the child with her?!" Asked another soldier_

_Maleficent gasped. How did they know of little Aldara? The infant fairy whimpered at which Maleficent quickly ducked back behind the bushes and tried to quieten her for fear of being caught._

_"W-Why should I tell you?!" Demanded Malcolm, secretly praying that the soldiers hadn't heard the baby crying._

_"He knows where they are!"_

_"So what if I did?!" Snapped Malcolm_

_"Where are they?" Asked the first soldier who had spoken, holding his sword threateningly close to Malcolm's throat_

_"I'd rather die than tell you murderous pigs anything!" He spat_

_"Well then..." Said the soldier in a worryingly calm voice_

_Maleficent looked back over at Malcolm to see the soldier withdraw his weapon from in front of Malcolm's face._

_The soldier turned from him as if to walk away but then he laughed_

_"Well...That can be arranged!" Before Malcolm could move the soldier had spun round and plundged the sharp blade of his sword into Malcolm's chest, piercing his heart._

"NOOOOOOOO!"

She woke with at start, gasping for air, tears staining her face and the images on Malcolm's lifeless body still fresh in her mind.

It had been getting worse ever since she had lost Aldara. Almost every night she would be forced to relive the day that Malcolm was taken from her.

She sat up and looked around the darkened room and she found a pair of bright eyes staring back at her which she knew belonged to her faithful pet raven Diablo.

"It's getting worse" She choked

Diablo fluttered down to sit on the sheets next to her. Maleficent held out a shaking hand for the raven to perch on. He cawed in a reassuring way. Maleficent smiled weakly and stroked the soft featers atop his head.

"Diablo you know I'd trust you with my life"

Diablo blinked at her and cawed uncertianly.

"I need you to find her, Diablo" Said Maleficent "We can't give up now. Please look again and this time find her. Find Aldara"

Diablo cawed and brushed his feathery head against Maleficent's hand before he took off out the window into the dark night sky.

"I'm counting on you Diablo" She whispered "Please. Please do not fail me again"

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A.N: Well I'm off to Wales, on Saturday, for the rest of the summer holidays so I won't be able to update at all until September. Also I'll be starting year 10 at my school in September so GCSE work start's meaning I'll have even less free time to write :(

I'll try my best to update maybe once a week but no promises there. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Bye everyone! :D


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone! I'm finally back with the next chapter which I was worrying would never happen as my laptop decided to break a week ago when I was planning to upload a new chapter and my dad has literally only just repaired it for me. As it is I've got a mountain of GCSE homework that needs to be doing and my laptop could die again at any minute so I'm sorry that this chapter is extremely short but I hate leaving this story for too long! :D

Chapter 6:

Aldara. That was all she knew about herself other than she was an orphan. She could remember barely anything from her infant years when she may have known her parents. She could vaguely remember a woman that she had come to guess was her mother...something about a dragon...and then someone had brought her to the orphanage where she had spent the remainder of her childhood days shut inside doing all the things that the owner, Ms Clarkson, couldn't be bothered to do. she didn't know what had happened to the people from her memories and even though she would spen hours at a time straining herself to remember she would still recall nothing more...apart from...apart from a song...a song she remebered someone singing to her...it might have been her mother but she couldn't be sure. She'd close her eyes at night and when she thought really hard she could just about recall the sound of the woman singing to her. She wanted more than anything to remember the owner of that voice and to know who she was. The only world she knew of was the orphanage where she lived and the only other people were the other children.

It was on her eighteenth birthday that she finally got an oppotunity to see what the outside world was really like. Ms Clarkson grabbed her by the back of her dress and dragged her out the front door while shouting at her.

"Out out out OUT!" Yelled the old woman

"B-But Ms Clarkson where on earth will I go?!" Asked Aldara

"I DON'T CARE! JUST GET OUT YOU WORTHLESS BRAT!"

"But where will I go?"

"Fine! Take the path down to the left which will lead you to the village where you can get a dead end job and live out the rest of your worthless life in misery!"

Aldara sighed and walked out through the gates to the orphanage and heard the large oak doors slam shut behind her.

"Go left...What is there for me to the left?...Absolutly nothing. But to the right..." She looked longingly at the forest off in the distance and in that moment an image flashed into her mind. She was running through the trees and bushes accompanied by a laughing woman; but as quick as this image had come it was gone. She shook her head. "Maybe that place holds the key to my past" She said thoughtfully.

She shrugged and ran off down the path to the right. If there was any chance whatsoever that this place held answers for her she would risk everything she had, which wasn't much. If there was some way that she could possibly unlock her past she could finally discover who she was.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter (hopefully soon) because of my increasing homework and I'm not at all sure how much longer my laptop will decide to work for so please be aware that I may be unable to write due to my laptop breaking or my homework becoming to much for me. Remember to leave a review to let me know how I did cuz I love hearing from you all!

Bye for now! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE THE CHAPTER!**

I AM BACK! :D This chapter is more of an update since I've been gone from this story for so long. First off to the readers that have waited for this update since I last uploaded thank you SO much for waiting for me to come back! I last updated right before starting my two year long GCSE courses and ended up deciding that I didn't have time to upload chapters in between studying. but now that's all done and I can upload again. Over the two years that Ive been gone I've gotten up to chapter 11 pre-written so I'll start to upload them as I write the rest. Just be aware that at some point during the A level courses I might disappear again but I WILL be back!

Also when I say that this is a short chapter I do mean short so please don't complain about the length of this chapter in a review (not that any of you will) because I'm already aware that it's shorter than every other chapter I've wrote so far. To make up for this I'll upload another chapter in a day or two. The rest of my chapter's are not in my possession right now as the shop that put a new battery in my phone broke my screen so as a result I've had to send my phone away to someone else to get my phoe repaired for damages it didn't originally have, unfortunately I write all my draft chapters on my phone incase I get a good idea during the day and want to add it in. I'm expecting to have my phone back by Wednesday so I should hopefully have no more issues uploading after that.

Sorryy if this sounds like a bunch of excuses but I felt that it'd be better to let you all know now incase anything goes wrong (If all my pre-written chapters end up being deleted before I get my phone back, for example)

Chapter 7:

Sixteen years had passed heart achingly slowly for Maleficent and she had done nothing but locked herself away in her castle, not speaking or writing to anybody. She had sent Diablo out in the hopes he would find her. He hadn't returned to her for six years and when his did it was to tell her that he hadn't found a trace of the child.

Hearing from Diablo that her baby was lost forever broke her heart and she wanted to find the person that took her child from her and make them pay for what they did. She would give just about anything in the world to be able to hold her daughter in her arms again just one more time.

After Diablo had returned with the bad news she had given up all hope of ever finding Aldara and simply locked all of her daughter's possessions in her old room and allowing grief to overtake her.

On princess Aurora's sixteenth birthday her servants returned to her saying that they had not found Aldara or the princess.

When she found out that they had been looking for a baby princess however her sadness temporarily melted away to be replaced with red hot boiling anger. When she had punished the idiotic servants she told Diablo to search for the princess.

"And Diablo"

Diablo looked at her

"If you can…please…Also try to find Aldara…Try to find my daughter"

Diablo nodded and leaned his feathered head against her to let her know that she could rely on him before he flew out of the window.

If she was completely honest with herself, she didn't really care what happened to the princess anymore. She just wanted to find her daughter

'Aldara would be eighteen by now…' she thought sadly. What would she be like after all these years? Would she even remember who she really is?

She didn't know if there was any hope of ever finding her lost child but if there was a chance of finding her she would do anything.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey Everyone and here's Chapter 8, the last of my drafts I had to edit and upload (It doesn't look like I'm getting my phone back this week)! It's almost 3AM here so I'm gonna upload this and go to bed!**

Chapter 8:

Aldara loved being in the forest. She loved the feeling of freedom as she ran through the trees and coolness of the clear water when she splashed about in the lakes. She sat under an old willow tree and gazed up at the sky trying to remember what life was like when she still had a home and parents. Each time she tried her mind went blank and she couldn't remember anything except several angry voices shouting at her to be quiet before dumping her at the orphanage. But then another time she'd remember a woman's voice singing to her. When she felt sad she often wandered off to be alone but no matter what was wrong she would always sing the same song.

"I know you I walked with you once upon a dream  
I know you that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam  
And I know it's true  
Yet visions are seldom all they seem  
But if I know you I know what you'll do  
You'll love me at once the way you did  
Once upon a dream"

"That's a beautiful song" said a voice

Aldara looked round to see a blonde haired girl smiling at her.

"Thank you. I've known it since I was little"

"Who taught you it?"

"My mother…I think"

"You think? What do you mean?"

"I…I don't know my mother…or my father. I don't actually remember much from when I was little…all I remember clearly is that one day I was suddenly on my own"

"That's really sad"

"Yeah I know but I'll find them. I'll find them and when I do I'll never lose them again"

"What's your name?" Asked the girl

"Aldara" she said "and you?"

"I'm brier rose but just call me Rose" said the girl

"Brier rose?…That's an odd name"

"So's Aldara" countered Rose

"Yeah I know…by the way how old are you?"

"Sixteen" she said "it's my birthday today"

"Oh well I'm eighteen. My birthday was a few months ago"

"You don't seem like an eighteen year old"

"I could say that you don't seem like a sixteen year old"

"I've only been sixteen for a few hours" Rose said defensively

"Alright that's fair enough"

After a few moments of silence Rose said "My aunts wanted me to pick some berries for them so I need to get going"

"Oh yes of course you do. Sorry I kept you talking for so long"

"That's alright I've never met another person before it's only ever been me and my aunts"

"Oh…in that case…are we friends?"

"Yes I guess so"

"Good…well I'd better let you get back to picking those berries"

"Hopefully I'll see you around here again sometime soon"

"Why don't I come back here tomorrow and meet you?"

"Or maybe later you could visit the cottage!" Suggested Rose

"Sure, I'd like that!"

"It's in that clearing back there" she said , pointing behind them both "I'll be there in an hour or two if you want to stop by"

Aldara smiled and nodded at Rose.

"Bye Aldara!" Called Rose

"Bye Rose!"

**One last thing I want to mention is that I've got a recently completed (And kinda sad)sleeping beauty oneshot as well as the first two or three chapters of a Black Butler fanfic. I'll upload the first Black Butler chapter later today if anyone wants to check it out. BUT...Would anyone be interested in me uploading the sleeping beauty oneshot too? I'm considering it but I'm not enirely sure since I just got a random idea, kept writing and it turned into an OKAY oneshot. Let me know in a review or a PM!**

**Other than that, Until next time! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's another slightly short one (Sorry about that!) So I might upload the next chapter sooner rather than later to make up for this!**

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Chapter 9:

Diablo returned to Maleficent with good news. He'd found the princess and he also said that she'd been singing a song that he said was familiar but he hadn't heard it for years. Something about knowing someone…and…something about a dream.

"Once upon a dream?" Maleficent asked more to herself than to Diablo

To her surprise and joy Diablo nodded his feathery head, cawing happily

"Diablo…that song…was the same song I used to sing to my daughter as a lullaby and that princess can't have known it because I made it up shortly after Aldara was born"

Diablo cawed as if to say 'Well she did say a girl in the forest was singing it and she couldn't help but remember it'

"Aldara! Do you know what this means Diablo?! She's alive! My baby is alive!"

'Mistress please remember that we have a curse to fulfil!'

"Yes of course! We'll fulfil the curse and then I'm going to go and find my little girl!"

'Of course mistress…but you don't know where she is and neither do I'

"Then we'll look for her, it's not difficult!"

'Yeah and we both know what happened when you sent those servants of yours to "look" for the princess'

"Diablo hurry up we don't have much time!"

Maleficent appeared in Aurora's room in the form of a green light and cast a quick spell on the princess causing her to stand up and foolishly follow the fairy through the secret passage that she'd opened in the fireplace.

Maleficent had to keep stopping to make sure that the princess followed her up the long flights of stairs that led into a large room.

Once the princess had stepped into the room she stopped, waiting to be told what to do next.

Maleficent waved her hand in the air, conjuring an enchanted spinning wheel. Aurora stepped forward and reached out to touch the spindle but stopped, hesitating

"Aurora. Touch the spindle"

Aurora nodded slightly and reached out to touch it but at that moment a voice shouted out and echoed up the staircase into the room.

"Rose! Don't touch anything!"

Those three 'good' fairies were about to ruin everything, they couldn't help but interfere with everything in her life! She was NOT about to let them ruin this for her!

"Touch the spindle" commanded Maleficent

Aurora reached out as slowly as before, her finger hovering slightly over the spindle.

The footsteps were getting louder, they were almost there!

"Touch it I say!" Screamed Maleficent

Without hesitation Aurora reached out and touched the spindle, drawing blood.

Maleficent smiled to herself as the princess dropped to the floor at her feet. Now all she had to do was get rid of any problems like the peasant boy who was probably making his way to the cottage in the forest at that moment. Then she could finally put the matter of the princess aside and look for her precious daughter.

Before the three fairies had even entered the room to discover the princess unconscious, Maleficent vanished in a mass of swirling green flames.


	10. Chapter 10

**FINALLY A LONGER CHAPTER FOR YOU ALL TO ENJOY!...Although it will probably give you the feels at the end (Don't hurt me!) but it's the good type of feels!**

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Chapter 10:

Aldara hadn't managed to find the time to visit her new friend, she'd wondered whether she should go and apologise for not being there. It'd be the right thing to do…

She knocked once on the door, causing it to creak open. It hadn't been shut properly.

"H-Hello? Is anyone here? Rose? Are you home?"

Aldara slowly took a step into the dark cottage and looked around. The place was a mess. There was broken objects on the floor, furniture knocked over and what looked like lengths of thick rope abandoned on the floor.

"What happened here…"

It looked like there'd been some sort of a struggle and the cottage was now deserted. Had Rose been kidnapped?

Aldara stepped back out of the cottage and didn't even have a chance to look around before she heard what sounded like the galloping of a horse getting louder and louder.

She turned and had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit by a man on a white horse, galloping towards King Stefan's castle.

Swirling clouds had appeared over the castle and lightning had started to strike the ground around it, something dark had started to appear around the castle, blocking it from view. Whatever the dark thing was it appeared to be growing.

"What is going on?"

Aldara had to know what was happening. She starting running down the dirt path that lead towards the town that surrounded the castle. As she got closer the dark object came into focus and she discovered that it was a huge black thorn bush.

Aldara heard a sizzling sound and stopped, looking up to see bright gold and purple light zoom past over her head towards the castle.

Ignoring the voice in her head that was telling her to turn and run, Aldara tried to find a way through the thorns.

She managed to find a slightly easier route, it looked like someone had already hacked away at the plant with something.

She could hear a voice, it was very familiar, but she couldn't see the owner of it through the thorns. She tried desperately to get through, she had to see the person that was speaking, she was sure that she knew that voice.

Aldara fell flat on her face, still half hidden by the thorns. She looked up to see a wall of flames. They slowly cleared to reveal a huge black and purple dragon.

"Oh…" Aldara paled. Maybe she'd made a serious mistake in coming through these thorns. "Please say dragons don't eat people…"

Aldara noticed that the man that has almost hit her with his horse earlier was standing opposite the dragon holding a sword. Was he mad?! That thing would crush him!

Aldara watched as the dragon took a snap at the man, who jumped back before swiping at its face with his sword.

The dragon breathed a jet of flames that missed their target and hit the thorns around Aldara. Panicking, she rushed out of the thorns and hid behind a chunk of stone only to dive out from behind it when the dragon's tail almost hit her as it turned.

Aldara looked around to see where the dragon's head was just in time to see it get punched in the face. It hissed and pulled its face back out of the thorns, stepping backwards.

Aldara screamed and dived out of the way so she wasn't stepped on, dragging herself a few extra feet away before standing up.

The dragon had turned its attention from its target, looking for the source of the scream. It spotted Aldara and its golden eyes went wide.

Before the dragon could be struck again it surrounded itself in green flames again until Aldara, or the man fighting it, couldn't see the creature at all.

Aldara found herself squinting slightly at the brightness of the flames. She was still ready to run if the dragon tried to attack her but, as the flames began to shrink below the size of the dragon, she quickly realised she wouldn't need to run.

The flames began to gradually extinguish themselves. There was now a person standing there instead of the dragon. As the flames completely died Aldara found that it was a woman.

She was quite tall and thin. She looked very pale but seemed to have a green tint to her skin

'She's like me…' thought Aldara

The woman wore black and purple robes with a raised collar that reached the ground and on her head was a strange looking headdress that made her look like she had horns instead of hair and ears.

The woman was looking at Aldara with a strange expression on her face, one that Aldara had never seen before.

She seemed familiar somehow…Aldara felt as if she knew this woman from somewhere…she felt like it was important…

"I…" Aldara gulped slightly, taking a few small steps towards the woman that she had previously believed to be a dragon "I think I know you…" She said

The woman looked slightly sad at this…but why?

"Do I know you?"

She nodded, still staring at Aldara as if she were shocked to see her.

Aldara looked at the woman, trying to put a name to her face.

She thought harder than she'd ever needed to about anything, trying to recall memories from further back in her life than she knew.

Different voices sounded in her head, lots of them. Most she recognised from the orphanage as either her friends or staff there. But then there were other voices, they sounded cruel and all she heard them say was 'shut up' over and over again.

But then she could hear another voice, this voice was singing. 'I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, that gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam. And I know it's true, yet visions are seldom all they seem…'

Aldara had started to very quietly hum the melody of the song.

She remembered the muffled sound of someone's voice as she was climbing through the thorns, it could only have been this woman's voice. It sounded exactly like the voice that she remembered singing to her

"The way you did once…upon…a…dream…" Aldara slowly looked up at the woman "You sang to me when I was little…right?"

She nodded "I did…"

That expression…it said a lot of things…relief…shock…joy…

guilt…sadness and…love?

Aldara looked into those golden eyes, she'd seen them before. They'd held the same emotions then as they did now…

Aldara blinked, more voices speaking in her head

'I wanna hear the dragon one again!'

'Aldara I told you that one last night…are you sure you don't want a different-?'

'Muuuuuuuummyyyyy! I wanna hear the dragon one!'

Aldara heard laughter, not cruel laughter. It sounded warmer, kinder…the two voices were familiar, one was her own and the other was…

"Mum?"


End file.
